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- India on Sunday reported 11,539 Covid cases and 43 fatalities. The cumulative caseload is 4,43,39,429 (99,879 active cases) and 5,27,332 fatalities
- Worldwide: Over 595 million cases and over 6.45 million fatalities.
- Vaccination in India: Over 2.09 billion doses. Worldwide: Over 12.06 billion doses.
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| TODAY’S TAKE |
| Lung infection back among Covid positive elderly |
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- Lung infection back: Physicians are again witnessing Covid-19 cases with lower respiratory tract infection symptoms involving the lungs in senior citizens and people with underlying ailments. Lung involvement has also been seen in vaccinated individuals over the past few weeks.
- A cursory analysis of nearly 200 Covid-19 patients hospitalised across Maharashtra’s medical colleges underlines this observation among physicians. Doctors have primarily seen Omicron cause upper respiratory tract infections, including sore throat, runny nose, irritation and swelling of the throat.
- Oxygen demand: According to an official, “Lately, the infection appears to have travelled to the lungs in some patients…While it has not caused any notable rise in deaths, patients requiring oxygen have seen a marginal rise.”
- What doctors say: The initial symptoms of Covid-19 are the same, but in a small percentage of patients, it progresses to a nagging cough, persistent fever and breathing difficulty, said infectious disease expert Dr Vasant Nagvekar.
- Physician Dr Gautam Bhansali said he has at least three patients, all above 60 years, with an HRCT score of more than 10.
- Chest physician Dr Salil said the more severe symptoms develop after the sixth or seventh day. “We are seeing moderate to severe Covid in elderly people with multiple comorbidities,” he said.
- Cause for concern? Doctors say the mild shift in symptoms is not a reason to worry as the ongoing flu and monsoon are expected to complicate things. Intensivist Dr Rahul Pandit, who consults with Fortis Hospital, said they are seeing hypoxia (low oxygen levels in the blood) even in patients of influenza H1N1.
- “People should keep an eye on persistent high fever and consult a doctor without delay,” he said. Meanwhile, civic officials said they were prepared for any surge in cases following the Dahi handi gatherings on Friday.
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| TELL ME ONE THING |
| Can a diabetes drug prevent Covid-19 hospitalisation and death? |
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- A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has indicated that a commonly prescribed drug used for diabetes — metformin — was effective in reducing the chances of a Covid-19 positive person from getting hospitalised, visiting its emergency department and even death due to the infection.
- The study said that there was a 40% reduction in hospital visits and deaths when metformin was administered — which rose to 50% if the drug was prescribed early on during the onset of Covid-19 symptoms. The research, led by University of Minnesota Medical School and School of Public Health, also found that the antiparasitic drug ivermectin and the anti-depressant medication fluvoxamine, given in small doses, were ineffective in treatment of Covid-19.
- The study, conducted on 1,431 patients between the ages of 30 and 85 — almost all of whom were overweight — saw the patients randomly being administered one of the three drugs individually, placebo, or a combination of metformin and fluvoxamine or metformin and ivermectin. The research team found that metformin not only reduced the likelihood of mortality from, or being hospitalised for, Covid-19 but also inhibited the growth of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes Covid-19 — in lab settings.
- The study also found that metformin demonstrated “antiinflammatory actions, including reducing levels of interleukin-1β and interleukin-6 and decreasing the risk of thrombosis and inflammasome activation.” The research team added that “the drug has also shown protection against lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury in mice inoculated with SARS-CoV-2.”
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Written by: Rakesh Rai, Sushmita Choudhury, Jayanta Kalita, Prabhash K Dutta, Tejeesh Nippun Singh
Research: Rajesh Sharma
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